


Bring Me Back

by ParadiseShards



Series: Save Me [2]
Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Bad is a magical demon with fluffy cat ears and a tail, Cryptid Phil Watson, Fox Hybrid Floris | Fundy, Goat Hybrid Toby Smith | Tubbo, Human build-a-bear, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Kidnapping, Limited Magic, Mentioned Ghostbur - Freeform, Mentioned Mumza, Mind Manipulation, Morse code hahah fun coded messages, Other, Piglin Hybrid Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Protective Parent Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Shapeshifter Floris | Fundy, Technoblade Hears Voices (Video Blogging RPF), This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, TommyInnit Angst (Video Blogging RPF), Winged Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), i'll add characters/tags as needed, mmm we like cliffhangers don’t we, nice things like sane parents, potions are basically drugs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-13 03:08:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29395275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ParadiseShards/pseuds/ParadiseShards
Summary: Tommy is eight, and he lives with his loving brothers and doting father. Techno and Wilbur are thirteen, and everything is perfect. Everything is safe. Everything is normal.
Relationships: Technoblade & TommyInnit & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Technoblade & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit, TommyInnit & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF)
Series: Save Me [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2164671
Comments: 78
Kudos: 159





	1. Strange Dreams

**Author's Note:**

> Part two: Electric Boogaloo :)

Tommy sat outside in the late autumn forest, sweeping the leaves around him into a pile to jump into. Just a few yards behind him, within sight of Tommy’s leaf pile, is a nice and welcoming cabin style house, perfectly sized for the family of four that lived there. If Tommy were to walk in the direction of the rising sun (east, if Tommy remembered Techno’s lesson on the cardinal directions correctly), then Tommy would find the sandy dip that Techno used for training in the summer and fall, and that turned into a shallow pond from the middle of winter, and then all throughout spring. If he kept going, then he would reach a beautiful band of flower forests, and then plains stretching as far as he could see. To the west were rolling hills forested with towering spruce trees and a few stretches of giant taigas, the much larger trees reaching far above the normal trees. If he kept going, then he would hit forested mountains. To the north was a lake where Philza often took them for picnics and to go fishing, and to the south… well, Tommy didn’t know what was that way yet. From the looks he had gotten when he convinced Phil to fly with him, it was just more of the mixed oak and birch forest he lived in, stretching far, far off and out of his sight.

  
  


Tommy, distracted as he was by his leaf pile, didn’t notice Wilbur running over until he practically ran through the pile of leaves, scattering a few and getting Tommy to look up. “Tommy! Guess what! I figured out how to play Cat on my guitar! Wanna hear it?”

  
  


Tommy tilted his head, Wilbur having caught his attention at the mention of Cat. Cat was one of his favorite songs, and suspected Wilbur had chosen to learn it specifically for Tommy. Also because his other favorite was Mellohi, and Mellohi was sadder, and slightly creepy. But Tommy couldn’t resist accepting Wilbur’s offer, despite how Wilby had scattered some of Tommy’s leaves. He had worked hard to get those into his pile! “Sure! Play it!” Tommy encouraged, blue eyes seeming to sparkle with anticipation in the pale amber light cast by the warm yet watery autumn sun.

  
  


Wilbur grabbed his guitar from where it had been hanging loosely around his neck from a strap, and sat down on a fallen log behind himself. His fingers hovered over the strings as he recalled how the song started, and experimentally strummed a few of the strings to make sure he was starting correctly. From there, he picked up the pace as he became more confident, and started lightly humming along with the music.

  
  


It was times like this when Tommy wouldn’t have been surprised if Wilbur told him he was secretly a music god, because there was no way a normal person could be this good with music. Though Wilbur made a few mistakes and skipped a note or went too high or low, the song sounded almost exactly like the Cat disc that he would play in the jukebox in his room. Tommy flopped over backwards, staring up into the fiery leaves adorning the branches and broken up by little blue patches of cloudless sky. Tommy didn’t think he had felt this happy and safe in… almost two years? No, that couldn’t be right. No, he was always safe, so long as he stayed here, stayed home. Stay within the safe haven Philza had created for him and his siblings.

  
  


Tommy supposed he had started spacing out or something, because too soon the music ended, and Wilbur was poking him with a stick. “Get up, sleepy child! You’re supposed to sleep in beds, not on the ground!”

  
  


“But Wilby, it’s so much more comfortable down here!” Tommy whined exaggeratedly, before giving Wilbur puppy-dog eyes. “Unless big brother Wilbur will carry me in, I’m sooo tiiiired.”

  
  


“Don’t call me your brother, I  _ can  _ and  _ will _ cry,” Wilbur said, sniffling a little to make his point, but Tommy could see in the loving expression on his brother’s face that he loved when Tommy did that. He still picked Tommy up though, swinging his guitar around so that it rested against his back, and wouldn’t get potentially broken, crushed between him and his brother. Tommy wrapped his arms around Wilbur’s neck and rested his head on his shoulder, half falling asleep as Wilbur gently pushed their house’s door open with his foot and walked in. Tommy wasn’t exactly sure how it had happened, but the next thing he knew, he was tucked into his bed, and quickly dropping off to sleep.

  
  


-

  
  


_ Tommy panted, shuddering as his mind tried to tear itself in half, splitting itself between the eight-year-old that was deep asleep in his room, and the sixteen-year-old who was straining to stay conscious, and not fall back into the horribly perfect dream he had clawed his way out of. Or was this the dream? It was difficult to tell, difficult to remember when he was getting sent such mixed signals.  _

  
  


_ His throat felt like it was getting shredded from the inside out, sore from screaming in pain, but he hadn’t been screaming, had he? He had been in the woods with Wilbur, no pain there. His wrists ached and bled from being worn raw from the ropes around them, and his fingers hurt from desperately scratching at the wooden arms of the chair, but he wasn’t in a chair. He was in bed sleeping, and his wrists were definitely unmarred by blood and bruised from slightly too tight rope.  _

  
  


_ A pained spunding cough drew Tommy’s attention to Philza- no, that had to be a monster, his father didn’t look so tired and worn out, and he would never let his wings get so battered, coughing and curling in on himself. It- His dull blue eyes were unfocused, and he looked so, so very tired. Tommy wanted to ask if he was okay and maybe hug him, he looked like he needed a good hug. No, he was the source of Tommy’s torment, he deserved this. What torment? There was no pain here. He was safe, safe, safe so long as he stayed home and safe within the circle of Philza’s wings, stayed with the brothers who loved him. _

  
  


_ But Wilbur wasn’t thirteen, and neither was Techno, and Wilbur was dead, and Techno wasn’t fearless anymore, he had been broken and remade and changed, just like Tommy had been. Tommy was normal and happy and safe and most importantly home, and this was a nightmare. He got them often, this wasn’t real. This was the only real thing. No. Yes.  _

  
  


_ Tommy didn’t know, didn’t want to listen to either of the too loud voices in his mind, demanding his attention and shouting over the other’s words. A dull ache built up at the base of Tommy’s skull, only hurting for a split second before it crashed over Tommy and he was gone, falling, sinking, drowning in nothingness- _

  
  


-

  
  


Tommy sat up quite suddenly, half expecting the nightmare to follow him to the waking world, but none of the pain from the nightmare followed him, just the phantom echo of a voice desperately telling him it was  _ lies, all of it was a lie- _

  
  


The voice was drowned out by his sobs and his door swinging open, Philza scooping his youngest son into a hug, and Wilbur sitting on the bed next to him, saying something Tommy can’t quite make out. Phil’s wings curled around him, and splintered images of him trapped in the dark under a piston, and trapped inside the very wings that were now comforting him burned bright in Tommy’s mind. They were gone as soon as they came, but the sense of claustrophobia they brought with them lingered, and Tommy clung tighter to his father’s shirt, burying his face in it and breathing in the familiar scent. 

  
  


Tommy’s sobs slowed when he felt a hand repeatedly run through his hair, the repeated motion calming him and pushing away the memory of the nightmare. Wilbur, having noticed the change, started playing a tune Tommy could barely recall as Chirp on his guitar. 

  
  


The clear and cheerful notes of Wilbur’s guitar and Phil’s voice lulled Tommy back to a dreamless sleep, his mind echoing with a mantra of ‘you are safe, you are loved, you are home.’ A tiny part of him called out that the words were false, they were lies, but the voice was too soft to be heard.


	2. Picnic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy and his family have a picnic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ;)

Tommy giggled at Wilbur, watching his brother creep up behind Techno, the only person Tommy knew who could sneak past Techno’s enhanced hybrid senses. His brother reached forward, wrapping his hand around the hilt of Techno’s carved wooden sword, sheathed at Techno’s side, then pulled it out and took off into the forest. The moment Techno realized what had happened, he sprinted after his thieving twin, his shouts fading as they got farther and farther away.

  
  


“Don’t go too far!” Phil called after them, knowing they wouldn’t go farther than the lake they were heading towards. Wilbur’s mischievous laugh echoed back to them, followed by a surprised and uncharacteristic shriek from Techno. Tommy fell into another giggling fit, but when Phil reached over to hold Tommy’s hand, Tommy flinched back and a dull burning sensation flared up around the wrist Phil had touched. Almost at the same time, his legs seemed to freeze up, and he couldn’t balance himself in time to avoid tumbling towards the ground.

  
  


Philza immediately reached out and caught Tommy, instinctively pulling his son close to his chest. That only seemed to make things worse though, because Tommy frantically shoved himself away, collapsing onto the grass below. Tommy curled in on himself as the trees around them became stony, and the warm sunlight flickered like a torch’s flame, and the shadows deepened. Tommy stared at his bruised arms, and how his wrists had been rubbed raw and bled onto the grass. He was shaking, and his hearing was fading from the sound of songbirds and crunching leaves to ringing, ringing that filled his head and blocked out all other sound… and standing over him wasn’t Philza, but a strange dark figure, shredded wings with none of the flight feathers, but he could almost make out pin feathers growing in their place. 

  
  


But then the figure started flickering, jumping between his father and the thing that resembled his father, both of them reaching out to touch his cheek, but only one asking him if he was okay. Tommy flinched away again, jerking his head away from the touch. The double vision he was getting was making him feel sick, and the way his head slammed into a stone wall probably wasn’t helping with it. The double vision didn’t last long, thankfully, snapping back to the forest and just the forest, but his bleeding wrists and head stayed with him.

  
  


Tommy cautiously tilted his head towards Phil, wincing against the bright sunlight, and how the movement made him feel like he was getting shot by an arrow.  _ Why did he know what that felt like? Who was the masked man that accompanied the feeling? _ Tommy pushed away the thought, searching for Phil’s eyes, and ignoring the instinct to immediately look away when his icy blue eyes met Phil’s matching gaze.

  
  


_ “Why won’t you let me go? You’re hurting me.” _

  
  


Tommy’s sight seemed to ripple, and everything went sideways and swirly and the colors were all wrong-

  
  


-

  
  


Tommy had a subdued smile on his face, everything still a little hazy after tripping and hitting his head on a rock hidden in the grass. It was nice to get carried by his father though, and he tucked his face into the space between his neck and shoulder. Tommy felt feathers tickle his face, and the chord of Phil’s glass heart pendant against his cheek, and wrapped his arms around Phil a little more tightly, not wanting to risk losing the comfort he felt when hugging his father.  _ (Was it always his father, though? He remembered long, straight hair. Pink, like a polaroid photo of a rose. Short. Blond. Silver eyes that seemed to glow. Blue like ice, blue like Tommy’s own eyes. No. That wasn’t right. Wasn’t right. What wasn’t right? _

  
  


Tommy was pulled out of his thoughts as the sound of boots on grass changed to the sound of pebbles and stones shifting, and water swishing across the lakeshore they were walking on now. The sound of a snapping branch and a shouted curse had Tommy looking down the lakeshore, and to an almost completely bare tree that Techno was standing under, looking up into the tangle of branches. A closer look at the tree revealed Wilbur, his favorite yellow sweater blending in with the fall trees behind it.

  
  


“Can I go play with Techie and Wilby?” Tommy asked Philza, pointing in the general direction of his older siblings.

  
  


“Sure Toms, just don’t go far, and don’t get hurt. You’ve already taken one tumble today, and I know how much you hate drinking healing potions.” Phil lowered Tommy to the ground, and watched his son run off to where his brothers were arguing.

  
  


Tommy slowed as he neared Wilbur’s tree, looking up to where his brother was dangling Techno’s sword just out of his brother’s reach, taking advantage of Techno’s unwillingness to climb trees. Techno was just staring up at him, murder in his eyes. 

  
  


“What’cha gonna do to get it back?” Tommy asked Techno, whispering so Wilbur wouldn’t hear.

  
  


“Well, I  _ could _ climb up on my own, or  _ maybe _ throw you at him and hope he drops it,  _ or _ you could climb up on your own, and either get him to come down or drop it.” Techno replied, glancing at Tommy as though judging how hard it would be to throw him into the tree.

  
  


“You wouldn’t!” Tommy protested.

  
  


“You want to try me?” Techno asked threateningly, raising an eyebrow at his younger brother. Tommy did not, in fact, want to try Techno, and he found himself scrambling up the tree like the little raccoon child he was. Getting up the trunk of the tree was the hardest part, with no branches to use as a boost up, but it was pretty easy to weave his way through the branches and to the one Wilbur was sitting on, taunting Techno by repeatedly almost dropping the sword, but catching it just before it fell out of his reach.

  
  


Tommy started edging his way along a particularly wobbly branch, but stopped when he spotted Philza sitting on a large and flat rock several yards away from the shore. He looked like he was fishing, Tommy could just barely make out the fishing rod in his father’s hands(none of the brothers had very good eyesight; all three wore glasses, but Tommy didn’t like his, and it wasn’t too bad for him. It just meant he couldn’t see far away things too well). He waved, and he was pretty sure the flick of Phil’s right wing was supposed to be a wave back.

  
  


He reached the end of the branch and hopped down to the one Wilbur was on, causing it to shake and almost knock Wilbur off.

  
  


“Careful where you jump, child! You almost knocked me down!” Wilbur complained, jokingly pointing Techno’s sword at Tommy. For a split second, the dark oak and gold hilted sword turned to a shimmery diamond, and it was embedded in Wilbur’s chest instead of held in his hand, but almost before he could notice what he was seeing had changed, it was back to normal.

  
  


“Maybe I want you to fall off the branch,” Tommy retorted, bouncing a little and causing the branch to shake more.

  
  


“You little hell child!” Wilbur screeched, loosening his grip on the sword, and using his free hand to hold the branch, attempting to stabilize himself. Tommy took his chance to lunge at his older brother, snatching the sword away from him. Unfortunately, the surprisingly heavy sword set him off-balance, and he tumbled off of the branch. Luckily, Techno was standing under him, and caught him before he could land on the ground. It didn’t last long though, as Techno dropped him in favor of taking the sword back and sheathing it.

  
  


“Wil, Techno, Tommy, come back! I’ve set up the picnic!” Tommy rolled to his hands and pushed himself up off of the ground, Wilbur dropped down from his branch, and all three brothers walked back to where Philza was sitting on the lakeshore. A few bowls of fruit and berries were set out, and the three siblings descended upon them like starved raccoons.

  
  


Tommy sat next to Techno, unconsciously keeping his brother between himself and his father. It wasn’t long before Wilbur flicked a sweetberry at Techno, and never one to back down from a fight, Techno somewhat discretely sent it back at Wilbur. That was all it took to start a full-on food fight between the two of them. It reminded him of how he and Tubbo acted around each other- they were practically twins as well, if not in blood then in spirit. Speaking of which,

  
  


“Dad?” Tommy asked, getting Philza’s attention. “When can I see Tubbo again?”

  
  


Immediately, Phil’s pleasant expression dropped away, replaced with surprise and… disappointment? Concern?

  
  


“Tommy,” Phil started hesitantly. “Tubbo was your imaginary friend. You made him up.”

  
  


Tommy’s breathing caught, and he felt distraught.  _ Tubbo wasn’t real? But he had so many memories with Tubbo. Tubbo was his best friend!  _ Granted, Tubbo was the only person Tommy had met aside from Phil and his brothers, but… 

  
  


Tommy felt tears pool on his eyelashes, and before he knew it, he was sitting in Philza’s lap, wrapped up in a hug. His father was trying to cheer him up, promising to let Tommy groom his wings, and that he would do Tommy’s hair like he did for Techno. This calmed Tommy down enough to stop crying, and Philza started finger combing Tommy’s slightly tangled hair. Each brush of his father’s fingers against his head made Tommy feel calmer and happier, and Tommy focused on the feeling, allowing time to slip away from him. 

  
  


An overwhelmingly calm and peaceful blanket of emotion seemed to settle around him, muffling his thoughts under whispers of  _ you are home, you are safe, don’t fight this. Don’t fight. Don’t think, don’t remember. This is how things are and should be. You are okay. _ Tommy tells himself he’ll only close his eyes for a moment. Just a moment.

  
  


-

  
  


Tommy floats back to wakefulness, blinking open his eyes. Philza is carrying him with one arm, holding Wilbur’s hand with the other. Techno is walking next to him. A quick glance at the sky tells Tommy that it’s early night, and a look at where their heading reveals their house. 

  
  


Tommy rested his chin back on Philza’s shoulder, and tiredly whispered that his throat was sore. Phil promised that he would make Tommy some tea after he put Techno and Wilbur to bed. They walk into the house, Phil setting Tommy down in one of the kitchen chairs, then walked his older sons up the stairs and to their rooms. 

  
  


Tommy laid his head down on the cold wood of the table, and stared at the pictures set out on the kitchen counter. Techno and Wilbur as toddlers, back when Techno’s hair was still brown, and the roots of his hair was just starting to grow in pink. Phil standing with a four year old Techno sitting on his shoulders, and holding Wilbur in his arms. Phil, six year old Techno and Wilbur standing in front of him, and a kind looking woman holding a one year old Tommy. She had hair darker than Wilbur’s, and wings like Phil, but hers were more like a bat’s. Phil had told him she was a dragon hybrid. Tommy didn’t remember her, but he knew she was his and his brothers’ mother, and Phil had said she wasn’t in this realm anymore. Tommy assumed she had gotten stuck in the End, as that was the only realm they couldn’t access right now, and it was also the home of the only dragon Tommy knew of, the Ender Dragon. Tommy called her Clara, but Phil said her name was Kristen, and she would play Chirp for him when he got nightmares.

  
  


Tommy was pulled out of his thoughts when Philza came back down the stairs, walking through the kitchen to the teapot. Several minutes later, his father set a cup of tea down in front of Tommy, with a healthy amount of honey mixed in as well to soothe his sore throat. Tommy happily sipped at it, smiling.

  
  


_ He was happy here. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ender dragon hybrid Mumza is inspired by Enderfriend. Go check it out, it’s great.
> 
> -
> 
> Do I know what’s going on in this chapter?  
> No, not really.
> 
> Next chapter gets interesting, we get a look into the outside ;)
> 
> -Para :)


	3. Comfort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bad gets to babysit a young adult and a teenager. Loss is complicated, and finding healthy ways to deal with it is important.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bad’s mansion is basically a hotel at this point, and he’s everyone’s doting grandparent and unofficial therapist.

Bad sighed, running a hand down his face. The past five days had been… extremely stressful, to say the least. The moment Bad had told Techno what had happened, he had fallen into an unnatural quiet. He seemed angry, almost upset at first, but then just determined. He had asked to go help look for Tommy, and Bad had agreed, as Techno had recovered enough to not need to rest, and he wouldn’t be alone. That had certainly been a mistake, as he had come to find out two days later. 

  
  


Bad had been sitting with Tubbo, trying to get the young president to talk with him, to do  _ anything  _ aside from just laying in bed or staring out the window, when Fundy had pushed the bedroom door open. Apparently, Techno hadn’t stopped to eat, drink, rest, or even speak to anyone since he had left the mansion. And that was a problem, because not only had they lost Techno twice already, but Philza probably wouldn’t pass up the chance to kidnap his other son, when he was alone and weak and suffering from lack of sleep and probably insomnia. Letting Techno continue like this would only end with him hurting himself, either from pushing himself too far, or making it significantly easier for Phil to just pick him up and carry him off to wherever he’s stashed Tommy. Fundy (and the rest of the group that was searching with Techno) were hoping that Bad could convince him to stop and take a break. Spoilers: he hadn’t been able to. Techno passed out three days after that, and only then was Bad able to bring Techno back to the mansion.

  
  


That brought Bad to where he was now: cringing as he listened to Techno try to break out of the windowless room Bad had left him in. He hated locking Techno into the room, knowing it would make the hybrid panic, but Bad didn’t want to leave Techno alone and able to just walk right out, and go back to almost dying while trying to find his missing brother. So locking the door it was, and hoping Techno tired himself out trying to break down the door, before he turned his stress and anger onto himself instead of what was around him.

  
  


Bad was startled out of his thoughts when he felt someone squeeze his hand, looking up quite quickly to see Tubbo. He had forgotten he was in Tubbo’s room. 

  
  


“Are you going to go check on him?” Tubbo asked, his eyes more focused than they had been in a while, though he still had a distant look on his face. 

  
  


Bad didn’t answer immediately, listening. “Yes, I’ll go check on him.”

  
  


“I want to come with you. I miss him too.” Bad was surprised by that. Tubbo missed Techno? No, it was more likely he was talking about Tommy.

  
  


“Okay, but be careful.” Bad said hesitantly, standing and walking with Tubbo to the door. The room Bad had put Techno in wasn’t far from Tubbo’s, as Bad hadn’t wanted to run across the mansion every time he wanted to check on the other. He unlocked the door, and pushed it open slowly.

  
  


Techno was sitting on the bed, his cape wrapped tight around himself. He looked up a few moments after Bad and Tubbo had entered the room, and immediately his gaze was locked onto Tubbo. He stood wordlessly, letting his cape fall from his shoulders, and unsteadily walked over to the short brunette. Tubbo tensed when he was pulled into a hug, his mind immediately jumping to thoughts of  _ is he going to kill me? _ And  _ what is he going to do? He's dangerous and he killed you once and he can do it again- _ Tubbo pushed those thoughts away, instead hesitantly returning the hug. 

  
  


Bad let out a relieved sigh when it became clear Techno wasn’t going to suddenly snap and kill Tubbo, instead giving them a moment. Well, maybe a little more than a moment. It took two minutes for Techno to properly look at the teen he was holding like they were his last lifeline, and about thirty seconds of staring before his half delirious mind could process that ‘ _ hey, wait. Tommy isn’t this short’  _ and  _ ‘Tommy is blond, not a brunette.’ _ And then come to the conclusion that he was not, in fact, hugging Tommy, but Tubbo. He immediately pulled out of the hug, almost tripping and falling as he backed away, mumbling what sounded like it could have been an apology.

  
  


Tubbo just gave Techno a dazed look, and halfheartedly shrugged. “It’s fine,” he said, before wandering out of the room. He had already forgotten why he was there, the memory lost in the daze he had been in since the news of Tommy getting taken again properly sunk in.

  
  


Bad watched Tubbo leave, then pulled a water and some cookies out of his pockets, as well as a roll of bandages. You never know when you could use some cookies, after all. After some prompting, Bad got Techno to eat a few of them and drink the water. They sat in silence for a while after that, Bad watching Techno, and Techno avoiding Bad’s gaze. He felt oddly like a child who broke something, and Bad was a parent waiting for him to apologize.

  
  


“We need to talk.” Bad finally said, crouching down in front of Techno, and taking one of his hands. He started wrapping Techno’s bloodied hands as he continued, half wondering if his door would stain from the blood on it. “I can tell you’ve been hiding from your emotions, and I suspect it’s how you usually cope with things like  _ this.” _ Where  _ this _ meant loss, emotional pain, things he couldn’t erase with a healing potion and some bandages. “While it  _ is _ a way to cope, it isn’t a healthy way, and you’re only hurting yourself doing it. You know I’m always open to talk about things like this, and I understand if you don’t want to talk about  _ why _ right now, but we  _ do _ have to go over some better, healthier ways to cope without hurting yourself and those around you.”

  
  


Techno stared at his newly wrapped hands, pink hair falling over his face and hiding his expression from Bad. He didn’t say anything for a few moments, turning over Bad’s words in his mind. He did have a point. “Anger. I’m upset that I couldn’t fight Phil on my own, and that I let him get to Tommy so easily. And I’m afraid. Properly terrified in a way I haven’t been in a long time, that whatever is happening to Tommy is worse than before, that he’s alone and afraid and in pain, and that if I don’t find him, I’ll be there soon as well.” Techno seemed extremely uncomfortable talking about his feelings. “Can we move on to the other thing now..?”

  
  


“Well, that’s a good start. And yes, we can. Doing things is a good way to help release anger, so if you feel upset, you can step back and focus on something else. Practice a new skill or something. You could also think through what it is that is upsetting you, and do things to stop whatever it is. Since Tommy being taken is what we think the source of the anger and stress is, you  _ could _ go back out again and look for Tommy and Phil, but you can’t just stop taking care of yourself while doing that. You have to take time to rest and eat, and the such. And as I said earlier, you can always talk to me. And if things get overwhelming, then take a step back, breathe, and take a break if you need one. Wearing yourself out over and over again helps nobody.”

  
  


Techno thought through these suggestions, seeing sense in them, and vaguely remembered someone (Philza) telling him similar things, when the voices got too loud, when Chat would overwhelm him with constant talking. Now, with Chat presumably gone, and nothing remaining in their place but silence, he missed them. He hoped they would come back. “So… can I go back out again? Look for Tommy?”

  
  


“Yes, but please be careful, and don’t go wandering off again. You have no idea how bad Ranboo felt after losing you twice, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Fundy got frustrated and would decide to not find you again,” Bad joked. “There’s some food and supplies in the entrance hall, take whatever you need.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> .-.-.- .-.-.- .-.-.- .- .-- .- .-. . ..--.. / -.-. .- -. / -.-- --- ..- / .... . .- .-. / -- . ..--.. / .--. .-.. . .- ... . / ... .- -.-- / ... --- -- . - .... .. -. --. / ... --- / .. / -.- -. --- .-- / -.-- --- ..- / .- .-. . / .... . .-. . .-.-.-
> 
> -....- . .--. --- -.-. ....


	4. Hey, so...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This isn’t an actual chapter.

So, I haven’t had much motivation to work on this story, and though I have a general idea for how it plays out, I’m not really satisfied with it, and it’s very difficult to work on the script. I’ve also been joking about how it looks a lot like a wandavision ripoff a lot, but I’m actually a little concerned it’s too similar now. 

So basically what I’m saying is I don’t know if I’m going to continue it. The first one was definitely better, and I feel like I’m just tacking on a bad sequel to it, when I could be working on something else, like another of the absurdly good Tommy getting kidnapped by... prompts, some other sbi related fic, or, god forbid, s c h o o l w o r k.

Figured I would give you all a fair warning. If I do end up leaving it, would you all prefer I just left it how it is, or if I posted another chapter going over the vague ideas I had for where it might have gone? It wouldn’t be anything nice or put together like the script chapter at the end of the first one, probably just a paragraph or two.


	5. The rest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rough outline of the rest of the story.

\- [ ] Aware  
•Tommy ‘wakes up’ when Phil is gone, and panics for a little before he manages to pull his mind together enough to calm down a little and look at his surroundings and push away the fake memories and world  
•Tommy quickly figures out that he can’t move at all due to ropes, aside from twitching his feet a little(curse you, muscle atrophy!), his hands, though his arms are still tied to the chair so that doesn’t do him much good, and the ropes around his wrists are just barely loose enough that he can rotate his wrists, but that just makes the ropes around them chafe more, and makes his wrists hurt more (this will scar over eventually, and things touching his wrists make him uncomfortable/trigger ptsd/trigger flashbacks). He can also move his head, but that doesn’t really do him much good either.   
•He does, however, figure out that the cave probably dead-ends behind him, because there’s a wall behind him, and he thinks he has hit his head on it before, but can’t quite remember.  
•Tommy spaces out because theres nothing better to do aside from trying to ignore the dull headache he has, ignore how much dried blood is on the chair arms, ignore the pain in his wrists, and try and sort out what parts of his memories/mind are actually him, and what wasn’t, because he was pretty sure he was the teen with the mostly dead or crazed family. The child’s life seemed too perfect to be real.  
•Tommy is snapped out of his spacing out when a surprisingly lucid Phil enters the part of the cave he can see, carrying with himself a regeneration potion and some food.  
•Phil comes over to Tommy and seems surprised that Tommy is awake, but also a little relieved, mumbling something about how it was hard to wake him up without hurting him  
•Phil uncorks the regen potion and brings it up to Tommy, but Tommy flinches away, hitting his head on the wall(for the second time). Phil winces when he sees (more) blood on the wall, and waits for Tommy’s eyes to refocus before attempting to convince Tommy it’s just a regeneration potion, and how it will speed up his wrists healing, and make it hurt less. (Phil doesn’t specify what ‘it’ refers to, but it could apply to his injuries, his headache, or whatever happens to him when Phil puts him into the fake world hallucination thing.  
•Tommy still doesn’t want to drink it, but he does when it becomes clear Phil’s going to make him drink it either way. It tastes like sweet raspberries and good memories, and made him feel tired in a warm and cozy way, like curling up next to a fireplace.   
•Phil encourages him to eat some of the food he brought as well, and he does.  
•Phil tells Tommy he’s putting Tommy back into the ‘better place’, and Tommy doesn’t particularly want to go back there, but he doesn’t really get a choice.

\- [ ] Revelation  
-8 yr/old tommy does something/remembers something that causes him to realize he isn’t who he thinks he is, but he doesn’t know to what extent, and realizes he can’t let Phil know he knows that, because ‘bad things happened before’. Tommy doesn’t know what bad things happened, or when exactly ‘before’ was, but he’s eight, he doesn’t think long on it.

\- [ ] Paranoia  
-Tommy spends the entire chapter paranoid that Phil will figure it out and do something to him. This chapter will take place over several weeks. (By the end of the chapter, tommy has been gone for a total of 19 days.)

\- [ ] Better  
-Filler about Tubbo, and him coming to terms with what’s going on? Some part of the chapter includes a conversation between Tubbo and Bad/Fundy, Tubbo says something along the lines of ‘i’m not doing/feeling good/well, but I’m better than I was’?

\- [ ] Forget  
-merged with Submit, not enough stuff to be full chapter on its own

\- [ ] Submit  
-The stress of trying to figure out who he really is and hiding his new knowledge from Phil causes Tommy to have a panic attack/breakdown, Techno finds him and gets Phil, Phil comes and tried to talk to Tommy. Tommy acts scared of him and he realizes what’s happening. He ‘wakes’ tommy up and talks to him, saying that if Tommy just stops fighting him, then he’ll be able to make all the pain and bad memories go away(The headaches and perpetually sore throat have seeped into the fake world, and their p a i n f u l, so Tommy is very inclined to accept Phil’s offer). Tommy does end up accepting after thinking it over for a moment. Tommy’s inherited repressed Cryptid mind magic he totally had this whole time lets down mental barriers he didn’t know he had up, allowing Phil unrestricted access to Tommy’s memories/mind/thoughts, and guess what, he starts rewriting or straight up erasing things that don’t fit with the world he made for Tommy, then throws him back in. Tommy is eight, everything is fine, he’s safe, and he lives in a perfect world he couldn’t escape if he tried.

\- [ ] Find  
-Tubbo, Techno, Dre, and Sam find the cave™️ through Dream sensing cryptid mind whatever, because he can do that. Tubbo absolutely flips out over Tommy not responding to him and being full-on catatonic, while Sam and Techno cut the ropes, and Dream makes an attempt to reach Tommy, not really knowing what he was doing, and ultimately failing, though he was able to see a very staticky and blurry scene, what he could vaguely decipher as Techno, Wilbur, Tommy, and Phil sitting at a table, and all looking roughly 8-9 years younger. Tubbo and Techno take Tommy home, Dream and Sam stick around. Eventually, a very sick looking phil shows up with food, stares at the empty chair and the two men just chilling in his cave, and he’s just so done with it all. He coughs a little bit, then collapses onto the ground. Dream and sam drag him off to the prison, but Phil says Tommy might die if he isn’t there to watch him and keep him stable. They decide to let him stay near Tommy, but only for the time being, and Bad will handle all interactions with him, as his demon-ness makes him immune to Phil’s spooky cryptid magic.

\- [ ] Separate  
-dream tries to explain whats going on with Tommy and Phil a few days after they get Tommy back, and Dream has tried to reach Tommy a few more times, telling the others in the room (Bad, Techno, Sam, Tubbo, and Fundy, who is doing doctor™️ stuff, as well as Tommy, but Tommy isn’t really there in any way apart from physically) that whenever he tries to contact Tommy, he sees a younger version of the family, and it’s like looking through a shattered underwater mirror, everything is warped and he can’t actually reach Tommy, though sometimes it almost seems like Tommy sees him, but doesn’t think what he’s seeing is real. Dream also mentions that it only happens when Phil is asleep or similarly incapacitated. They decide that Phil is being more of a hinderance than help, and so they separate the two, locking Phil in the prison again. About a week after that, Dream is slowly able to see into and move around Tommy’s fake world, and Dream knows Tommy can see him, from the way he glances in his direction, and sometimes he thinks Phil can too, because when Phil is around, he always stands between him and Tommy. Dream tries to talk sometimes, but it only seems to make the strange, young version of Tommy scared. He keeps trying, though. One day, he gets Tommy to follow him.

\- [ ] Wander  
-Tommy doesn’t exactly know what the strange green thing is, and he can’t remember why he followed it out into the wintery landscape one day. It almost looks like the silhouette of a person, but green and broken up, like smoke in front of a light, or a tattered flag rippling in a fierce gale. He thinks it might have spoken to him again, he vaguely remembers the words ‘follow’, ‘save’, and ‘need’. He follows anyway. He and the green thing walk and walk through the snow and trees, and Tommy thinks their heading north, but soon theres no sun to see by, and the snowy landscape gets too white, like the color was being leeched out. Everything gets staticky and then the green thing is gone, and he’s back at home and everything is normal and what was he doing before then? He can’t remember.

\- [ ] Retrieve  
(Basically JadeSpeedster17’s oneshot based off of I’ll keep you safe, they really gave me the inspiration for most of this story with their story, go read it or I’ll come after you with a kitchen knife🔪)  
-Dream’s attempts seemed to be making progress, but then something changed and Dream couldn’t progress with Tommy anymore, so they decide that they’ll let Phil come and see Tommy, so long as he agrees to get Tommy out of the fake world. He agrees, but when he gets there and he and dream go into the fake world, Phil starts fixing the cracks and holes Dream had been making. Dream realizes this, and immediately leaves to the real world, where Phil has gotten away from Sam, and is clutching Techno with surprising strength, doing... something to him, but it’s unclear to everyone who isn’t other. (Sam can sense something isn’t right, Bad can feel and kind of see the cryptid magic, and Dream can brush against Techno’s mind with his dreamon magic, and see the inner conflict he’s fighting, distracting him enough from fighting against Phil that he couldn’t escape his father’s vicelike hug. Nobody but Fundy notices, but for a moment Tommy’s daze seems to lift and his eyes focus, and he looks so scared and confused and young, but then it’s back, and Techno goes limp, and Phil smiles, before Bad, dream, and Sam finally manage to get Phil away from his older son. Phil falls into a coughing fit, then says that he has everything he wants, and nobody could hold anything over him anymore. When phil is gone, They check on the brothers, and Dream notices something concerning. Tommy is still catatonic, and Techno is currently nonresponsive, though he did twitch a little, kind of like how you do when your half asleep, but what Dream notices most is how Techno and Tommy’s minds seemed to be tangled up in each other, though it was more like Tommy was unknowingly reaching out with his magic, and keeping Techno stuck in the fake world with him. Because that was where Techno was, he was trapped in the fake world, stuck in the body of his thirteen year old self, and with half forgotten memories that slipped away from him when he tried to pin them down. Dream realizes he’s going to have to find a way to get Techno out before too much damage was done, and immediately starts working on it.

\- [ ] Restrain  
-merged with Retrieve

\- [ ] Intrude  
-Dream forces his way back into the fake world and does as much damage to it as he could, and though he manages to get Techno out completely, he only gets Tommy out for a few minutes, and Tommy has no recollection of anything past the fake memories he made in the fake world, and what he remembered from being eight. On top of that, he acted like an eight year old, and got pulled back in pretty quickly. They decide to kill Phil in an attempt to free Tommy, and they do kill him, but something changes and Tommy seems to fall into a coma soon after, Dream only seeing an endless black he cannot pass through when he tries to access the fake world. 

\- [ ] Recover  
-Techno gets therapy or something, Tommy stays basically dead in every way but actually dead, and things get better, but they don’t get good. 

\- [ ] Heal  
-Tommy wakes up, but he’s mentally an eight year old and barely remembers anyone but Techno, and its super sad and nobody really knows how to deal with it or where to start with helping Tommy, but the story ends with him petting Laelaps and listening to Techno as he promises to do all he can to try and help Tommy through life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry I couldn’t find the inspiration to write the rest of this story out nicely for you all, but this will let me work on better and properly planned out stories in it’s place. 
> 
> Until next time  
> -Para :)

**Author's Note:**

> It’s back! 
> 
> Update schedule?  
> Nahhh who needs those
> 
> Feel free to suggest things you want Tommy and his family to do, I’d love to hear your ideas! 
> 
> Also I might be a sadistic little terror that loves making our favorite family suffer, but none of the comfort or cuddling I’ll probably be writing is meant to be romantic.


End file.
